Writing, editing, storytelling, and more from Jim Gibbons
I think this yearly list of “books I read” has always been more for me than any audience, but it’s a full-blown habit now, so…
Here we go again!
(All my previous Year In Books posts, if you’re so inclined: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017.)
Continue Reading “My Year in Books: 2018”
Let’s get reflective!
2017 was a busy year, and 2018 was no different. My son turned one, my sister got married, we camped three times (one excursion was a backpacking trip covering 15 miles with my wife), we swam in Oregon rivers and lakes, we traveled (Chicago twice and Arizona), and I took my nephew to see a Trail Blazers game. On top of that, my wife started working a second job to pursue a career in public health, all while I worked my day job in marketing and pursued freelance editing and writing opportunities. It was a full, busy year. And while my wife and I have put together our hit list of things to accomplish as a family in 2019, I thought—much like last year—now would be a good time to take a look back at 2018 and see what ground I covered in my freelance career. Can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been, right? Continue Reading “2018 Productivity”
At the end of every year, my social media feeds fill with productive creative people touting how much work they’ve done in the past 365 days. Seeing how much everyone has accomplished, it’s very easy to feel like you haven’t done anything at all—or at least you haven’t done enough.
This past year, my son was born. In the most important of ways, it was the biggest year. He’s the best thing I’ve ever had a hand in creating and being with him daily is the best “work” I’ve ever done. Naturally, it was a pretty busy year. (So busy I’m finally writing those post in February!)
While parenting is a life shift that redefines everything, I still wondered how my year stacked up in terms of creative output. Even when you’re having an incredible year, at least for me, it’s hard not to try and tally your efforts. (I’m a bit of a listmaker.) When I crunched the numbers, expecting it to have been a light year in creative work, I was pleasantly surprised. I’ve had busier years, but to have done all this… Continue Reading “2017 Productivity”
It’s that time again! Time to review the last year’s reading habits.
Each year, I track what I read. I post the list here. I jot down some thoughts, and then I rinse and repeat year after year. (I explain the reasoning and history of this habit a bit more in last year’s post.)
(Previous My Year In Books posts: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016.)
No long preamble this time. Here’s the list… Continue Reading “My Year in Books: 2017”
I’ve been a comic book editor for seven years. Five years at Dark Horse Comics, one at Stela, and one as a freelance editor, roughly. In that time, I worked on 59 graphic novels and more than 200 single issue comics at Dark Horse, got 32 projects greenlit, up and running, and edited at Stela, and I’ve edited 18 different scripts (so far) while freelancing (plus some other assorted jobs).
This year, though, I finally made some headway as a writer.
Continue Reading “Writing News: Winter 2017”
I have a love/hate relationship with year end “Best Of” lists. I love them, because I’m curious to see what books, movies, TV shows, styles of yogurts, sweatpants, and cute puppy videos are among the year’s best and most loved. But I hate them because, as Powell’s Staff Picks Top Fives remind me, there are way too many good books that come out each year for me to possibly read a good amount of them, let alone read them all.
Back in 2010, knowing I couldn’t keep up with new releases well enough to do a decent “Best Of” list, I began simply listing all the books I read as a study in… myself, I guess. How much did I read? What did I read about? What time of year did I read most? This probably ends up only being interesting to me, but heck, I’ve been doing it for over half a decade now so I guess I’ll keep it up!
(Check out previous My Year In Books posts: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015.) Continue Reading “My Year in Books: 2016”
For the past year, I’ve worked from home as the senior editor at Stela. Toiling away at the desk in my home office gave me unique insight into the day-to-day of the talented writers, artists, colorists, and letterers I work with regularly. Now, I’m taking it to the next level. Continue Reading “The Dawning of a New (Professional) Era”
In 2015, thanks to a very kind introduction from Marvel Talent Relations Manager Rickey Purdin, I was invited to be a guest at Comics Uncovered, an intimate aspiring comic creator seminar attached to Birmingham, UK’s International Comic Expo. I was being flown out to do portfolio reviews and hang out and talk comics—it seemed too good to be true. Feeling guilty about being flown across the globe and put up in a hotel in order to do a few hours of portfolio reviews, I suggested: “I can do a presentation or something. I want to earn my keep.” My gracious host Shane Chebsey*, the show organizer, was delighted to take me up on that offer, so I set about hastily putting together a presentation on a topic that I, as an editor, get asked about most frequently: breaking into comics. Thanks to the tireless talents in Dark Horse’s design department, my slapdash** ideas were stylishly and swiftly converted into a Powerpoint presentation and I headed to England to preach to a young, impressionable group of writers and artists. I think it all went pretty well, so I’ve taken the time to update my talk (trying to keep the conversational tone in which it was originally presented) and post it here in the hopes it can, in some small way, aid the burgeoning careers of any up-and-coming comic talent looking for some advice. Continue Reading “Breaking In: Advice on Starting a Career in Comics”
New York Times Bestselling author Fred Van Lente—who I’ve had the pleasure of working with on Resurrectionists, Brain Boy, Project Black Sky, new editions of his Action Philosophers and The Silencers, and a few other things—is, in my humble opinion, one of the finest writers in comics. If you’re looking for a script format to mimic, head to his website and check out his templates. As an editor, I love this format! It’s also one of the preferred formats of letterer extraordinaire Nate Piekos of Blambot! Continue Reading “Fred Van Lente’s Five Comic-Making Mistakes”
Continuing my tradition of making a “Here’s What I Read Last Year” list instead of a “Best Books of the Past Year” list—I’m super envious of those folks who have the ability to consume loads of newly published content each year—here’s a list of what I read in 2015.
(Check out previous My Year In Books posts: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014.) Continue Reading “My Year in Books: 2015”